Traditional Hematology/Oncology Track
Three Year Curriculum Overview
Year 1
The first year of the fellowship is focused on providing participants with a solid foundation of clinical knowledge and experience through high-impact educational conferences and longitudinal, outpatient-focused clinical training. Fellows will also be paired with disease experts for more focused learning opportunities.
Year 1 of the fellowship includes:
- Disease-focused half-day clinics (7 half-day sessions per week, year-long)
- Fellows are assigned longitudinally to work with a disease-specific faculty mentor in each of their clinics on a given half-day each week throughout the year.
- Fellows assume primary responsibility of the patients for whom they care, in conjunction with their faculty mentor and supporting interdisciplinary team members.
- Provision of care across the spectrum of cancer and survivorship, including active participation in our clinical trials program.
- Inpatient hematology/oncology consult service (4-5 weeks)
- Fellows commence intermittent inpatient responsibilities during the second half of the academic year.
- Inpatient hematologic/oncologic consultation is provided for a vast array of medical services in a tertiary care setting on BIDMC’s East and West Campuses.
- Fellows get rich exposure to hematologic/oncologic emergencies and consultative issues.
- Educational Conferences (daily, year-long)
- Participation in the longitudinal career development process (year-long)
- Professional development series: weekly conferences on topics relevant to career development (i.e., finding a mentor, careers in hematology/oncology, scholarship pathways, independent funding, finding a job, etc.)
- Team-based, longitudinal career advising
- Biannual mentorship conferences with fellowship program leadership, including scholarship advisors
- Annual Career Development and Scholarship Advisory Council meetings
- Vacation (3 weeks per academic year)
Year 2 & 3
Following the comprehensive and rigorous outpatient and inpatient clinical experiences participants gain in their first year, trainees spend the majority of their second and third years deepening their understanding of hematologic malignancies and pursuing independent scholarly work in an area of their choice. This includes deliberate professional development and support for securing positions in a chosen career beyond graduation.
Years 2 & 3 of the fellowship include:
- Longitudinal ambulatory clinics
- Each fellow will define their patient panel and clinical focus, in accordance with their individual goals and supported by the fellowship program’s career development infrastructure.
- A minimum of one half-day session/week is required.
- Inpatient hematologic malignancies (8-9 weeks, Year 2)
- Intensive exposure to diagnosis, evaluation and management of patients with hematologic malignancies and complications, including: autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation and adoptive cellular therapies.
- Fellows are supervised by expert faculty mentors.
- Inpatient hematology/oncology consult service (4-5 weeks, Year 3)
- Fellows return to the inpatient consult service during the first half of the final year of training.
- Inpatient hematologic/oncologic consultation is provided for a vast array of medical services in a tertiary care setting on BIDMC’s East and West Campuses.
- The program provides rich exposure to hematologic/oncologic emergencies and consultative issues.
- Clinical electives (1-4 week blocks)
- Radiation oncology
- Laboratory medicine
- Hematopathology
- Pathology
- Cytogenetics
- Coagulation
- Transfusion medicine
- Hospice and palliative medicine
- Community-based hematology/oncology, BID Needham
- Additional elective experiences as outlined in the hematology track may also be arranged.
- Participation in the longitudinal career development process, which includes:
- Professional development series: weekly conference series on topics relevant to career development (i.e., finding a mentor, careers in hematology/oncology, scholarship pathways, independent funding, landing a job, etc.)
- Team-based, longitudinal career advising
- Biannual mentorship conferences with fellowship program leadership, including scholarship advisors
- Annual Career Development and Scholarship Advisory Council meetings
- Independent scholarship & professional development (9 months in Year 2, 10 months in Year 3)
- Trainees get time for initiation and pursuit of independent scholarly project(s) of their choosing; this work will continue longitudinally and receive mentor oversight. This includes time for writing IRB proposals, research protocols, manuscripts and grants, as well as time for pursuing coursework or meetings/collaborations relevant to the individual’s professional development needs.
- Fellows get access to multiple defined pathways and deliberate professional development during Years 2 and 3 of the fellowship program. These include*:
- Translational/laboratory investigation: Mentored experiences with application for career development awards (NIH, ASCO, ASH), presentations at locoregional and national/international conferences and meetings, and seminars in grant and manuscript writing. Formal didactic/coursework opportunities include: Harvard Catalyst Models of Disease Boot Camp; Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Research Academy; Harvard-wide Vascular Biology Seminar Series; Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Seminar Series; Analytical & Quantitative Light Microscopy, MBL, Woods Hole, MA; and the Frank Epstein Research Society (“K” club).
- Clinical investigation: Mentored experiences that include developing and writing a clinical trial protocol, initiating a clinical research study, big data outcomes research and more. This also includes preparation for presentations at locoregional and national/international conferences and meetings, and seminars in grant and manuscript writing. Formal didactic/course work opportunities include: Harvard School of Public Health Program in Clinical Effectiveness; Harvard Catalyst Models of Disease Boot Camp; Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Research Academy; and others. The career development strategy includes preparation and mentorship to apply for career development awards (NIH, ASCO, ASH).
- Medical education: Mentored experiences aimed at developing rigorous skills in curriculum development, instructional design and teaching, evaluating educational outcomes, and evaluations and feedback. This includes preparation for presentations at locoregional and national/international conferences and meetings. Formal professional development opportunities include: participation in the Clinician Educator Track for Subspecialty Fellows, BIDMC Academy of Medical Educators, HMS Academy of Medical Educators, ASH Medical Educators Institute and others.
- Patient safety and quality improvement: Mentored experiences involve comprehensive training through participation in Divisional and Departmental Patient Safety Committees; leadership of the ASCO Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI); leading and planning Divisional Morbidity, Mortality and Improvement (MM&I) Conferences; and engaging in mentored QI projects within the hospital or larger network. Formal course work/didactics include the Harvard Medical School Fellowship in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement.
- Community-based practice: Mentored experiences with emphasis on comprehensive and broad-based training in hematology/oncology to help facilitate expert care and clinical innovations in community-based settings. Professional development in this pathway includes curated clinical experiences both in disease-focused clinics and tumor boards at BIDMC and broad-based clinical care in partnership with expert faculty mentors situated in our community satellites. Mentored experiences include developing expertise in clinical/hospital administration, patient safety and quality improvement, and clinical trials, among others. Trainees get access to both finite elective and longitudinal options for community-based training.
*These pathways are not mutually exclusive and can be selected (major focus/minor focus) based upon individual career interests and objectives. Trainees can select additional elective experiences to maximally support the individual career pathway.
- Vacation (3 weeks per academic year)